January 10, 2019

2019 Canadian politics preview

2018 brought a highly rare minority government in New Brunswick, a first-time party in charge in Quebec, and the mess that is Ontario. Marijuana legalization was also a big story.

How can we top that in 2019? Did someone say federal election?

The three people above plus Elizabeth May (below) will run in the October 21 election to be prime minister.

Bill C-76 allows all Canadians who live abroad to vote in the federal election. The Harper Government had banned Canadians from voting if they had been outside the country for 5 years. The new bill rescinds the old policy.

Voter information cards will once again be a valid identification form for voting. Spending will be limited within the campaign and for the 90-day period before the election is called.

NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is running in the Burnaby South byelection on February 25. Unlike Justin Trudeau (prime minister, Liberals) and Andrew Scheer (Conservatives), Singh does not have a seat in the House of Commons.

Singh is running for a seat in British Columbia even though he is from Brampton, Ontario. As unusual as that sounds, this is something that happens in Canadian politics.

The Burnaby South riding was held by former NDP MP and current Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart.

2019 will have a dramatic election in Alberta. Rachel Notley and the NDP have been in charge of a province that is used to penciling in some form of the word "conservative" on the ballot. This time, the United Conservative Party under Jason Kenney will provide the primary opposition. Miss the days of the Wildrose Party.

Prince Edward Island as well as Newfoundland and Labrador have provincial elections a few weeks earlier that should have fewer sparks than the one in Alberta.

Here are the tentative election dates for the provinces in 2019:

Alberta — May 31

Prince Edward Island — October 7

Newfoundland and Labrador — October 8

Here is the list of the provinces and the year of their last provincial election.

China revenge for the Canadian arrest at the behest of the United States. A horrible trade deal, hoping from relief from the Dems in the U.S. House. Tariffs ongoing with no relief in sight. We will be here to cover the sad, tragic, and hopefully good news on this front in 2019.

Comments

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I'm disappointed that you did not post a photo of Elizabeth May. I expect the Canadian media to ignore the Green Party, but when bloggers ignore them as well, what chance do they have of ever being elected??